strength

A lion and a lamb seem an unlikely pairing and yet, together, they bring such a powerful message.

Lions represent courage, power, wisdom, pride, dignity whereas lambs represent gentleness, vulnerability, innocence, purity.

In this card both their traits are married together to show us that true strength is a combination of power with vulnerability, courage with gentleness, pride with purity... those who are stronger aren't those who shout the loudest or exert their power over others, it's those who have the courage to step forward with strength and also gentleness, with power driven by kindness, with pride giving way to forgiveness. The traits of both the lion and the lamb need to come together, lie together, in order to show great strength.

I love that the lion on this card is adorned with daisies. It brings a softness to an animal we associate with such strength, the king of the jungle. The daisies are an extension of the lamb as they, too, represent innocence and purity thus reinforcing that the traits of the lion, such as courage, won't, alone, bring you strength. True strength is in the coupling of the traits of the lion and of the lamb.

Daisies are also linked to the phrase "as fresh as a daisy", meaning you're feeling fresh after a good night's sleep. They also signify new beginnings. Taking all these meaning together, the presence of the daisies is saying to me that you have been in a deep sleep and have now awakened, fresh, ready for a new beginning. To find the strength to walk your new path or embrace this new beginning you'll need to find true strength, the marriage of gentle courage, the power of kindness etc etc... the combining of the lion and the lamb.

There's a lot of green on this card, including the green of the butterfly. Green is the colour of healing. And it feels to me that either healing is needed in order for you to bring together the traits of the lion and the lamb, or that healing has already taken place as you slept deeply and now that you are awake and feeling fresh as a daisy, you can step forward with strength. Whichever interpretation resonates with your heart is the one you should take.

The presence of the butterfly signifies transformation. Quite simply, when you display true strength through the marriage of traits from both the lion and the lamb, it will bring great transformational healing to your life and all that cross your path.

In the background is an image of a mountain. For me it's very much in the background, in the path that the lion and lamb have already walked. So that says to me that the mountain was present in the past to open your eyes to the opportunity to conquer your challenges through true strength.

The final symbol I want to talk about on the card is the infinity symbol (the figure of 8 on its side). I feel this symbol pulls everything we've interpreted in this card, together. It's like the summing up of all the individual symbols and their meanings.

The infinity sign signifies the concept of limitlessness or eternity.

What this means to me, as a summation of all we've touched on above, is that when you are presented with an opportunity to conquer any challenges that present themselves in your path, you can conquer and overcome them through the healing traits of both the lion and the lamb, combined. So long as you accept this formula into your life, you shall continue to step forward with true strength, forever, walking a path of transformational healing.

Reference: This beautiful card is from Animal Tarot Deck by Doreen Virtue & Radleigh Valentine, illustrated by Dan Craig